India to induct 7 squadrons of LCA Tejas 1A despite flaws to make up for falling numbers

: The government has decided to induct at least seven squadrons of the made-in-India Tejas Mark 1-A Light Combat Aircraft or LCA into the Indian Air Force, to make up for a shortage of fighters. The Tejas Mark 1-A is slightly more proficient than the first-cut home-made LCA, the Tejas, but the aircraft still has some flaws. For one, there are doubts about its ability to carry the required payload of weapons. Also, its Indian-made radar needs to be replaced with an Israeli radar. The IAF has agreed to induct the Tejas Mark 1-A as it urgently needs more than 120 lightweight fighters to be used for air defence and to intercept enemy aircraft. A squadron has about 16 to 18 aircraft each. It had earlier agreed to induct 40 Tejas', an aircraft that India's national auditor CAG said had severe flaws with "shortfalls in meeting the engine thrust and other parameters such as weight...